Video spotlight: Hook basics—barbed and barbless hooks

Tim Flagler from Tightline Productions and Orvis have teamed up to do a short video series on hook basics, aimed presumbably at new anglers. In past episodes, they've covered the anatomy of a hook and hook sizes.

The video above focuses on barbed and barbless hooks. This may seem a bit silly, but think back to when you were first starting to fly fish, and how confounding the sizes, line weights, rod weights and sink rates were—it took some time to get used the fly-fishing jargon, no?

But this episode has perhaps the most to do with angling responsibility. With most fly fishers now happily engaged in catch-and-release practices, it's probably a good idea that we all understand how barbless hooks make the release easier. They also likely damage the fish's mouth less when they are removed.

But, as Tim points out, the trade-off is that fish come unbuttoned more frequently with barbless hooks. Either way, knowledge is power, right?